Rory McIlroy Defends Wife Erica Stoll After She Was Hit with Beer at Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy is speaking out after his wife Erica Stoll was the target of hecklers — and a thrown beer — over the weekend at the Ryder Cup.

The Masters champ addressed the media after Europe prevailed over the United States 15-13, and specifically called into question the contentious atmosphere and raucous crowd.

“[Family] should be off limits, but obviously it wasn’t this week,” McIlroy, 36, told reporters on Sunday, Sept 29. “Erica is fine. She is a very strong woman and she handled everything this week with class and poise and dignity like she always has.”

He added, “I love her and we’re going to have a good time celebrating tonight.”

McIlroy’s teammates, including Justin Rose and Shane Lowry, also shared their admiration for Erica’s restraint.

“I actually had no idea that Erica had a beer thrown at her yesterday, so fair play to Erica,” Rose said. “She didn’t bring that to the team room. We didn’t make that a big deal. That is news to me which says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody on this team.”

Lowry added, “I was out there for two days, and I’m not gonna lie, the amount of abuse she received was astonishing, and the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable. And kudos to her for that.”

Throughout the weekend, McIlroy and other European players sparred with fans, provoking the Irish golfer in at least one instance to yell back at the crowd, while others flashed middle fingers in response to the jeers.

At one point on Saturday, Sept. 27, McIlroy seemingly had enough, and snapped at a heckler before making an impressive approach shot on the 16th hole, turning and telling the fan to “shut the f— up” during his shot.

“I chirped back a few times because it got to me a few times, but we tried to handle everything that came our way with class and poise, and for the most part, I felt like we did that,” McIlroy said. “It was a rough week for all of us, but at the same time, we shut them up by our performance.”